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“BRAID” Will Work with Fifteen CS Departments to Increase the Percentage of Their Undergraduate Majors That Are Female and Students of Color

CLAREMONT, Calif. and PALO ALTO, Calif. — September 24, 2014 – The AnitaB.org, (ABI) a non-profit organization focused on advancing women in computing, and Harvey Mudd College announced today the Building Recruiting And Inclusion for Diversity (BRAID) initiative to work with computer science departments at 15 universities across the United States to increase the percentage of their undergraduate majors that are female and students of color. The BRAID initiative was announced today by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during her address at the 2014 Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) Annual Meeting, as part of the Girl’s CHARGE, a CGI Commitment to Action comprised of 30 companies, civil society organizations, multilaterals and governments to improve learning and leadership opportunities for young women and girls. This collective effort, CHARGE – Collaborative for Harnessing Ambition and Resources for Girls’ Education – has raised over $600 million dollars to reach fourteen million girls over five years. BRAID is supported by three-year funding commitments from Facebook, Google, Intel and Microsoft. Maria Klawe, president of Harvey Mudd, and Telle Whitney, president and CEO of AnitaB.org, will lead the BRAID initiative.

“Undergraduate computer science departments across the country are interested in attracting women and underrepresented minorities to their programs,” said Whitney. “Leveraging the experiences of successful programs like those at Harvey Mudd College provides an attractive path to redesigning their programs. BRAID is designed to jump start their efforts and document the results to identify best practices that consistently yield results.”

Under BRAID, the 15 academic institutions’ computer science departments have committed to implementing a number of approaches that have demonstrated success at Harvey Mudd and other institutions. These approaches include expanding outreach to high school teachers and students, modifying introductory CS courses to make them more appealing and less intimidating to students from underrepresented groups, building community among underrepresented students, and developing joint majors in areas like CS and biology to encourage interdisciplinary approaches. Participating universities will provide data for a research study documenting the progress made across departments. Professor Linda Sax, GSEIS, UCLA, will lead the research study on the program’s implementation. In addition, each of the departments will receive $30,000 per year for three years to help support their efforts.

“The BRAID initiative is the most exciting project I’ve been involved with to expand diversity in computer science,” said Maria Klawe, president of Harvey Mudd College. “I’m thrilled by how enthusiastic department chairs have been about taking on this initiative to change their culture in a way that will make it more inclusive to underrepresented groups, including women and minorities. It’s also inspirational to see how quickly the four companies stepped up to fund the initiative and the research study on effective educational practices.”

BRAID is a joint initiative led by AnitaB.org and Harvey Mudd College launched with the hope of extending it for a further three years if sufficient progress is made. Departments not already doing so will be encouraged to use the extension services offered by NCWIT and NCWIT also will receive funding from the project.

To facilitate and expand the work of CHARGE, No Ceilings: The Full Participation Project – a Clinton Foundation initiative led by Secretary Clinton and Chelsea Clinton – will commit to convene the collaborative, track progress, and enable outreach to future partners. Last year at CGI, Secretary Clinton announced the launch of No Ceilings with a call to fulfill the unfinished business of the 21st century, and make an evidence-based case for the full participation of women and girls around the globe. As No Ceilings evaluates data on the status of women and girls over the last 20 years, it’s evident that ensuring equal and adequate education for girls, through secondary school and beyond, is essential for improving the health, stability, and prosperity of communities and countries around the world.

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About Harvey Mudd College

Harvey Mudd College is the premier liberal arts college specializing in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). The College’s mission is to prepare engineers, scientists and mathematicians to become leaders in their fields and understand the impact of their work on society. Students learn to problem-solve in a hands-on, collaborative environment; do research alongside outstanding faculty; and develop leadership skills to benefit an increasingly technological world. Located in Claremont, Calif., Harvey Mudd College is a member of The Claremont Colleges Consortium.

Established in 2005 by President Bill Clinton, the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI), an initiative of the Clinton Foundation, convenes global leaders to create and implement innovative solutions to the world’s most pressing challenges. CGI Annual Meetings have brought together more than 180 heads of state, 20 Nobel Prize laureates, and hundreds of leading CEOs, heads of foundations and NGOs, major philanthropists, and members of the media. To date, members of the CGI community have made more than 3,100 Commitments to Action, which have improved the lives of over 430 million people in more than 180 countries.

CGI also convenes CGI America, a meeting focused on collaborative solutions to economic recovery in the United States, and CGI University (CGI U), which brings together undergraduate and graduate students to address pressing challenges in their community or around the world. For more information, visit clintonglobalinitiative.org and follow us on Twitter @ClintonGlobal and Facebook at facebook.com/clintonglobalinitiative.